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IMF Demands New Trade Framework for TPPA

In a 10-point statement issued on behalf of 25 million members in 100 countries, the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) is calling for significant changes, including a new framework trade agreement, for the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPPA) Agreement.

The TPP is an Asia-Pacific regional trade agreement currently being negotiated among the United States and eight other countries, including Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Such a framework would include international labor standards reflected by ILO conventions and require all signatory countries, including the U.S., to adopt these standards before any agreement could be finalized.

The statement, which the IAM was instrumental in drafting, also says that special investor-to-state dispute mechanisms that enable corporations to sue governments are unacceptable.

“As a prior condition to negotiating any agreement, all countries involved must examine the job impact that current and proposed trade agreements, including the TPPA, could have or have had on their workers,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger, who serves as Vice-President of the IMF.

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